Hashimi sisters dominate Afghanistan national championships in Switzerland

In the mountains of Aigle, Switzerland, the Hashimi sisters crossed the finish line together, unfurling the flag of Afghanistan before embracing in tears.

Fariba Hashimi  19, edged out elder sibling Yulduz, 22, at the end of the 57km-long women's road race at the 2022 Afghan national road cycling championships on Sunday (23 October) with Zahra Rezayee third and Nooria Mohammadi in fourth.

Arezo Sarwari took fifth place ahead of Masomah Ali Zada, the Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team member who became the first Afghan woman cyclist to compete at an Olympic Games.

Ali Zada's sisters, Zahra and Bilqes, finished 16th and 25th respectively.

Troubled times

The location of the race is indicative of the fact the women would not be allowed to compete in their homeland.

They are banned from practising sport altogether with women's and girls rights eroded since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

This championship is part of an ongoing effort of world governing body, the UCI – whose headquarters are in Aigle – and its partners to support those in need.

The participants in this race, jointly organised by the UCI World Cycling Centre, the Afghan Cycling Federation, the organising committee of the Tour du Pays de Vaud and the Commune of Aigle, have all been forced to flee their country and are currently living in different parts of the world.

Around 50 cyclists - currently based in the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, France and Italy - raced two laps of a 28.5 km circuit.

Before the race, Masomah Ali Zada told Olympics.com, "It's important to underline that UCI saved the life of these women who can now live in a safe country, where they can study and re-build their lives."

Masomah, who came 25th out of 25 last year in the Tokyo 2020 women’s individual time trial, fled the region with her family in 2017, resettling in France after she received death threats for practising cycling.

The 26-year-old, who is now a civil engineering student in Lille, wanted the race run not only for personal ambition but to keep the spotlight on what is happening in her homeland: "Whenever I can cycle in a secure and free environment I feel very grateful that I am able to do so, but at the same time I get sad.

"I can't help but think about the women back home who also want to work but can't because of the security situation there and the strict rules set by the Taliban. That is heart-breaking."

READ MORE: Masomah Ali Zada: The Little Queen of Kabul

Stronger together

Post race, emotional scenes ensued, from the front two as well as fellow competitors, cycling officials and hosts.

Runner-up Yulduz Hashimi told Olympics.com, she was happy Fariba won despite her being her younger sibling.

"We are very happy having won this race, especially because my sister and I have arrived together. For me it´s very important that [we have had the opportunity], all the Afghan girls, to have been together in the championship."

The pair, who now live in Italy and have been signed to the Israel-Premier Tech pro-cycling team, said they "felt happy about participating with other Afghan girls who are now out of Afghanistan and safe in different countries".

UCI president David Lappartient, added: "There's a lot of emotion here as you can see today, because it was the first time for them to come back together and this is a message to the world, a message of hope, that sport can move barriers, can bring people together, and that sport will remain with these Afghan ladies.

"The institutions - we're not always popular - but in our mission, in our hearts is the goal of helping our national federations and our athletes. And this is what the UCI has done, what other international federations have done, and this is clearly a message we want to give: we are behind you, we will continue... not only for the evacuation, but after, because now it is a new life here. And we are still connected to our athletes, to help them".

Hope for the future

Masomah, meanwhile, crossed the line hand-in-hand with another competitor and was happy to have her siblings racing too.

She said, "Since I arrived in France five years ago, I could not represent my country and now with this championship I can participate in a race in the name of Afghanistan. And finally thanks to this championship I can see all my friends again, my teammates with whom I used to ride in Afghanistan until the Taliban came back.

"Now we will all gather again in Switzerland, remember our good memories and defend women's rights together."

And the future looks bright for women's cycling in Afghanistan with the top five finishers all under-23 riders.

Afghanistan women's cyling national championships 2022 – Results

1 Fariba Hashimi 1:32.40

2 Yulduz Hashimi 1:32.40

3 Zahra Rezayee 1:38.41

4 Nooria Mohammadi 1:38.44

5 Arezo Sarwari 1:43.57

6. Masomah Alizada 1:43.57

For full results, click here.